1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile terminals applicable to mobile devices, such as a mobile phone, a personal handyphone system (PHS), and a personal digital assistant (PDA), each having a camera function and a wireless communication function, such as a short-range wireless communication function based on Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) or Infrared Data Association (IrDA) or a contactless wireless communication function based on Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID). More particularly, the present invention is directed to a mobile terminal, serving as the above-described mobile device, capable of having a wireless mouse function, a mouse application program, and a method for utilizing the mobile terminal as a wireless mouse device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-164559 (Patent Document 1) discloses a mobile terminal in which a pointer displayed in a display unit can be moved on the basis of the shift between images captured through a camera provided for the body of the terminal.
In this mobile terminal, when a pointing mode is specified, the camera successively captures images of the surface of an operation table, on which the mobile terminal is placed and is operated. Two images successively captured are compared, thus obtaining the shift between the two images. The direction and distance in which the mobile terminal moved are determined on the basis of the shift. The pointer displayed on the display unit is moved in accordance with the direction and distance. Thus, the pointer displayed on the display unit provided for the terminal device can be moved.
In carrying a notebook personal computer, generally, a user also carries a dedicated mouse device. The user connects the mouse device to the computer and then uses the computer at a remote location.